Check out this slick live video of DLA performing his track “To My Head” at the Lafayette Hotel’s weekly Mixtape Thursdays series.
The show was a super intimate affair, hosted in the Conservatory room at the Lafayette Hotel. The audience was scattered around in comfy vintage sofas and 1920’s era furnishings. Local visual artists surrounded the room with their works on display for the crowd to casually peruse while enjoying drinks. The vibe of the evening was sophisticated yet laid back.
Acoustic/electronic artist Mango Jennings opened the show with a mixed set–he performed covers on guitar, played some electronic mashups and DJ’ed grooves. He was accompanied by the silky smooth vocals of local singer-songwriter and yoga-master Heather Foat, who also occasionally jumped in on the cajón to add a steady back beat.
DLA came on soon after to close off the night with some upbeat originals, accompanied by local electronic artist Jordan Furlong on the drum machines and synthesizers. The pair vibed their way through some dancey jams and a couple of more indie-electronic numbers. DLA created dense and mesmerizing textures with electric guitar loops, and carried the melodies with finger drumming vocal samples. Furlong countered with hip-hoppy 808 drum beats and grooving trance kits, as well as fat leads and swelling synth pads. They closed out the set with an ear-grabbing jam, a then-unreleased song that is now known to the world as the dark slow-rolling track “Talking,” recently featured on Nest HQ.
The night was an elegant mixture of art and music, chilling and dancing, bumping and grooving. The Mixtape Thursday series happens every week at the Lafayette Hotel and features local up and coming artists from the San Diego scene. Check out DLA, the electronic project of David Lopez de Arenosa, on iTunes, Spotify, Soundcloud and everywhere else.